One-Step™ Style Your Home: Container Gardening Made Easy

Container gardening is not just big for 2015. It’s huge and growing in possibilities.

The looks range from current and stylish with colorful annuals combinations in on-trend containers like multi-hued ombre pots or tall, aluminum cylinders…to cool and unconventional, with perennials and annuals at home in painted watering cans, rustic barrels or lava pots. Above all, container gardening today is all about expressing your personal style and keeping it simple and sustainable.

One-Step Style from the Design Experts: Take the One-Step Style collection of Expressions Annuals™ – decorative annual combinations that reflect the design guidance of HGTV HOME™ experts like Design Director Nancy Fire. “The One-Step Style combinations are fabulous with their tonality. They go straight from the garden center to a decorative container so they’re going to look fabulous all season long,” she says.

One-Step Style combos feature new color palettes, compatible growth patterns and superior genetics. The result? Annuals combinations that grow and thrive from spring to fall with proper care, filling out containers of all descriptions with color, texture and garden style.

Friendly Fusions™ is one of the popular One-Step Style collections that is capturing gardeners’ attention with Purple Genius™ (pictured above)– a bold purple mix, Orange Bliss™ and Perfect Union™, an Americana favorite with red, white and blue blooms for classic summer color.

Go Monochromatic or Shady: One-Step Style is a simple yet stunning container gardening solution. Planting monoculture Essential Annuals like petunias, dahlias, geraniums and calibrachoa in complementary containers is another. Mass a single bold color of petunias like Raspberry Superstar in several neutral-colored pots for a monochromatic statement. That’s also big for 2015.

Always remember to factor in the amount of sun the area receives, from full sun to shade, when selecting your annuals. Shade loving annuals are also taking center stage in containers placed in sun-dappled areas on patios and decks. The Plant Collection’s Shady Showoffs™ like Copper Glory™ (pictured below) are brimming with coleus and begonias that look gorgeous in earthtone pots.

Pot a Perennial Favorite: Perennials are also finding their way into container gardening for looks that span the seasons. Ornamental grasses (pictured below are Fuchsia Fountain™ and No Surrender™) are natural choices for large garden pots, either as eye-catching thrillers with accenting annuals or as the sole occupants. Heuchera, dianthus and salvia are other pot-worthy perennials. Annuals combinations, monoculture annuals and perennials in pots can reside in the same area to create a lush, colorful look for outdoor living areas. Throw in a few new outdoor cushions and pillows in new colors and you’ve achieved an instant outdoor style makeover.

From Retro to Metal: We’re redefining container gardening this year. First, there’s the whole new spectrum of container options and second, we’re rethinking the very concept of “container” with the use of raised garden beds and the return of window boxes. Re-purposed, distressed garden pots are popular now along with rustic barrels. If your personal style is on-trend and of-the-moment, look for ombre pots with graduated colors, tile-covered containers, retro pots in blue, green, orange or yellow, and metal containers, from copper-toned to aluminum. Just remember to coordinate the style, texture and color of the container to the annuals or perennials you choose to grow.

Your Window on Style: Flower and window boxes are back in a big way for 2015. You can paint them with multi-colored designs at home for a quick DIY project. After drying, fill them with colorful, One-Step Style annual mixes or monochromatic annuals for a beautiful, massed effect. The boxes are gorgeous hung from deck rails, placed on stone walls or mounted outside your home’s windows.

Raise Your Expectations: Is this the year to install a raised garden bed in your yard? It’s just the right accent for a patio area or walkway. Construct the bed itself out of cement, stone or a combination of both, fill with peat moss and garden soil and add your annuals, perennials or edibles. A raised bed provides a built-in garden base where you can switch out flowers and plants on a seasonal basis, providing a variety of garden looks through the year.

Nurturing Your Container Gardens: Thanks to the genetics behind Expressions Annuals and One-Step Style combinations, your annual plantings should thrive in their containers, given proper care. Whether you choose a ceramic, metal, wood or plastic container, make sure there’s a hole in the bottom for proper drainage. Pour potting soil in the bottom of the container, transplant the combo or plant, and fill in with soil, leaving room at the top for watering.

> KNOW HOW! Tip: Container gardens dry out fast so they require frequent watering. Overhead water can damage delicate blooms so always water underneath the foliage. Fertilize with bloom food periodically and you’ll be rewarded with garden style and the latest looks in container gardening from spring through fall!